Following their collaborative¥€$ track "Mona Lisa," Rick Owens and Tommy Cash's artistic worlds are colliding yet again for an upcoming exhibition at the Kumu Art Museum of Estonia. Titled "The Pure and the Damned," the exhibition was curated by Kati Ilves and displays the individual works of Cash and Owens, as well as new artworks created together exclusively for the show.
Cash is an Estonian rapper and conceptual artist, while Owens is best known as fashion's king of post-apocalyptic, grungy glamour. Together, their expressions form a synergetic balance that makes for an amazing duo, and the artists' aesthetic commonalities are on full display in the show — a demonstration of their individual and like-minded approaches to form and function.
Rick Owens
Cash's use of pop culture references and distorted imagery is right in line with Owens' own provocative exploration of form and the natural body through clothing. (Remember his penis-baring runway looks?) Using sound and lighting to bring the works together, Owens' combination of garments, objects, and furniture, along with archival runway footage, will bring forth the designer's world at the Kumu.
Contrasted sharply with the colorful world that Cash creates, Owens' works present a shadow world beyond its bright exterior. The spatial installations make this apparent throughout "The Pure and the Damned," with multiple zones representing the most concentrated, essential aspects of their work.
"The Pure and the Damned" will open to the public on May 3rd and remain open until September 15, 2019. Check out a preview, below.
Photos courtesy of Danielle Levitt